The 2015 edition of the Tour of Switzerland has certainly been tailor made for the rouleurs. On the sinuous and complicated course that will also serve as the time trial route for Sunday’s final stage, the riders were able to roll once more altogether.

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) made a huge effort in the final along with his last breakaway companion, Jan Bakelants (AG2R-La Mondiale), and came away with the victory after covering the course with an average speed of 43.952km/h. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) retained his yellow leader’s jersey even though he lost a handful of seconds to his nearest competitors for the third day in a row. For IAM Cycling, their day was highlighted by Jonathan Fumeaux’s presence in the breakaway of 19 riders who set off on their escape at the end of the first of four laps over the 36.4 km course.

Fumeaux was separated from the break with 12 kilometers to go to the finish, and ended the day in 14th place 1’53” behind the winner. When discussing his day, Fumeaux, who comes from the Valais region of Switzerland, was pleased to get into the break he had been trying to find since the race started in Rotkreuz. 

“I had tried my luck several times during the week, but I never managed to find the right group. Today we had to fight for quite a long time in order to get a bit of breathing room. I’m happy to have been able to join such a strong break, even though I missed some strength to follow the best in the final. After being gapped a few meters exiting a corner, a misplaced motorcycle prevented me from catching back up.

“But I still have fond memories of very intense moments with the group. As the only representative for the team in the break, it was important for me to stay with the leaders for as long as possible. We have worked really hard since the beginning of the Tour of Switzerland. Of course, this circuit may do a lot of damage still in the final time trial tomorrow.”

Kjell Carlström, directeur sportif for IAM Cycling along with Mario Chiesa, was satisfied with the team’s stage on Saturday. 

“We have been very aggressive. At first Martin Elmiger joined a break before Jonathan Fumeaux found the right one. It was our goal to provide Sébastien Reichenbach with the chance to recover as much as possible in order to be fresher in the time trial. But in the end, we had to chase the break down because Warren Barguil was among them, and he was becoming a danger to us. We put some riders on the front of the pack in order to reduce the gap. And this challenging circuit offered no respite. For the time trial tomorrow, there will certainly be some big gaps and a few surprises.”